The goal and purpose of practicing is to get better at playing your instrument. Of course, we want to do this as efficiently as possible and still have fun!
When we go to our music lesson our teacher gives us knowledge.
When we take this knowledge and break it into small bits, I call these “ Golden nuggets”, we take these little bits and repeat them over and over, slowly, carefully, and correctly many times - this eventually turns into ability.
You can do activities in your practices that make practicing more fun!
These little erasers come apart and become tiny puzzles. Look at one of your pieces you are practicing and find the number of “nuggets” in the song that needs to be worked on. Choose one of the erasers that have the same number of parts To be practiced. Present the player with one of the parts each time they complete a careful practice of each of those sections When all of the eraser parts are earned then the player can put their eraser puzzle together.
For Suzuki students, ask them to play a review/upgrade piece between the eraser practice activities.
At the end of their practice, they can look over their erasers and choose one that they can keep and take with them.
Free downloadable Fish Practice Sheets:
(How to use my practice sheets with examples)
Remember that repetition “nuggets” are to be played in sections that are so small and slow that there are no mistakes.
Two examples of things that a SUPER PRACTICE PARENT can say are:
“It is more fun to play it right so let’s do a small bit slowly”
“Just how slowly and carefully do we have to do this little nugget to do the task just right teacher has asked us to do?”
You can purchase these adorable erasers on Amazon. When I ordered mine they arrived at my door in no time at all!
Try out practicing with these cute little eraser animals! you can also use any other small pieced puzzles that have 2-5 pieces in it.
Please send me a photo of you with your musician with their puzzle activity to share with other parents. I would love to see it!
Check out my Free PDF download Checklist for a Successful Music Practice for teachers and practicing parents.
Your easy checklist for successful home music practices from Christy, the practicing pro. Whether you are a new or seasoned practice parent or music teacher, this checklist will help you organize before, during, and after practices for effective and fun practices.
INVITATION from Christy Hodder:
Speaking of amazing practices, let me tell you all about the digital course, the Practicing Pro Academy. This is for the serious practicing parents and music teachers and is an at-your-own-pace, step-by-step, online course to bring you more effective, positive, and fun home music practices. Registrants receive a special package in the mail from me, and I am with you in person with Q&As to answer all your questions.
Learn more about PPA and join the waitlist HERE for the next Practicing Pro Academy course. It's only offered once a year so you don't want to miss it. The registration will only open for a few weeks and I'll let everyone on the waitlist know immediately so that you can grab one of the spots.
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